The Union of Traken is governed by a Keeper gifted with the powers of
the Source. The current Keeper is nearing the end of his thousand-year
tenure, however, and asks the Doctor and Adric -- who have escaped from
E-Space -- to go to Traken and stop an evil he believes is plotting to
destroy the Union. But the source of the evil, the Melkur, has already
infiltrated the Consuls of Traken, and has the Doctor declared a
criminal. Allying himself with Consul Tremas and his daughter, Nyssa,
the Time Lord must uncover the true power behind the Melkur -- someone
who knows the Doctor of old.

Production

Johnny Byrne had come to England from Ireland as a travelling poet, and
originally became involved in the country's music scene, even living
with the Beatles for a time. He also wrote short stories for
publications such as Science Fantasy, and by the early Seventies
had begun moving into film and television, including the movie Adolf
Hitler -- My Part In His Downfall. During the mid-Seventies, Byrne
became a key player on the Gerry Anderson science-fiction series
Space: 1999, for which he contributed a dozen episodes and also
served as script editor.

Byrne had been approached several times to write for Doctor Who,
having been courted on separate occasions by script editors Robert
Holmes and Douglas Adams. In late 1979, Byrne was even offered the post
of Doctor Who script editor himself: he had worked with new
producer John Nathan-Turner when he wrote episodes of All Creatures
Great And Small, but was unwilling to relocate to London. However,
Byrne did indicate his interest in providing scripts for the series.

With only 20 years left until the year 2000, Johnny Byrne
felt that millennialism was a timely topic

The man who ultimately accepted the Doctor Who script editor's
position was Christopher H Bidmead, and he met with Byrne around the
spring of 1980. Byrne suggested a story that dealt with millennialism:
the belief that the turn of each millennium will be heralded by a period
of cataclysm and upheaval, as espoused by Zoroastrianism and by some
Christian sects. With only twenty years left until the year 2000, Byrne
felt that this was becoming a timely and interesting topic. He wanted to
tie this notion into the tumult that sometimes results when a
long-serving head of state dies or retires. The resulting adventure,
The Keeper Of Traken, was commissioned on July 18th.

Byrne's initial scripts were set in a mediaeval-type society, divided
between the scientific Greys and the zealous Blacks, led by Hellas and
Zorca, respectively. Zorca summons a being called Mogen he believes is a
demon, but whom the Doctor later realises is the last survivor of a race
of super-beings with fantastic mental abilities. Mogen wants to take
control of the powerful Source in order to use Traken as the launching
pad for galactic conquest. Zorca frames Adric for murder, and the
cliffhanger for episode two originally involved the Doctor, Adric and
Hellas on the brink of execution, about to be crushed between blocks of
steel. A key element of part four was a stolen component from the
TARDIS, which Mogen uses to construct a time disintegrator with which he
plans to kill the Doctor. Byrne also introduced Hellas' daughter, Nyssa,
whom he named for a friend of his called Nerissa.

Around this time, Tom Baker decided to leave Doctor Who at the
end of Season Eighteen after starring in the series for seven years.
Although Nathan-Turner felt that it was time for a new Doctor, he was
very concerned that viewers would no longer accept a change of lead
actor. To this end, he wanted to reintroduce a popular element of the
programme's past in order to bridge the changeover from Baker to his
successor. Since Romana would be leaving Doctor Who partway
through Season Eighteen in Warriors' Gate
-- the story that would preceed The Keeper Of Traken -- he
initially thought to bring back a former companion for a handful of
adventures. To this end, he approached both Elisabeth Sladen (who had
played Sarah Jane Smith from 1973 to 1976) and Louise Jameson (who had
been Leela in 1977 and 1978), but both actresses declined his invitation
to return to Doctor Who. Nathan-Turner was also mindful that
although K-9 would be exiting the programme along with Romana in Warriors' Gate, the version of the character
left on Gallifrey (in Season Fifteen's The Invasion
Of Time) could be reintroduced if the need arose.

John Nathan-Turner wanted to make the Master a less
humorous, more malevolent echo of Roger Delgado's incarnation

As the summer progressed, Nathan-Turner began to consider alternative
plans for the end of Season Eighteen and the start of Season Nineteen.
Since his efforts to bring back an old friend of the Doctor's had
failed, he instead decided to reintroduce an old enemy. This was the
Master, an evil Time Lord who had originally been played by Roger
Delgado until the actor's untimely death in 1973. The Master had already
been resurrected once in 1976's The Deadly
Assassin, in which Peter Pratt had played the character in a
condition of near-complete physical deterioration. Nathan-Turner now
wanted to restore the Master to an echo of Delgado's incarnation --
albeit in a less humorous and more malevolent form.

At this stage, The Keeper Of Traken was designated Serial 5T, and
was planned to be the penultimate story of Season Eighteen.
Nathan-Turner and Bidmead felt that the character of Mogen could easily
be replaced with the Master, and that The Keeper Of Traken could
be revised as an effective vehicle to explain the villain's
transformation from his cadaverous state to a rejuvenated body. This
would also presage the Doctor's own imminent regeneration. The new
Master would then appear in both Baker's final adventure and the first
story to feature the Fifth Doctor, forming a loose trilogy of serials to
guide the audience through the major upheaval of Baker's departure.

In late August, Byrne complied with Nathan-Turner and Bidmead's request
and introduced the Master into The Keeper Of Traken. Mogen was
replaced by the statue-like Melkur in order to keep the true villain's
identity a surprise until the final episode. Byrne then left on
vacation, but gave Bidmead permission to make any further changes
necessary. Bidmead subsequently excised the Grey and Black factions --
which bore similarities to the Savants and the Deons of the same
season's Meglos -- and replaced Hellas and
Zorca with the married couple of Tremas and Kassia. The name Tremas was
chosen to be an anagram of “Master”, foreshadowing the fact
that the Master would now possess Tremas' body at the serial's
conclusion.

To play the revitalised Master, Nathan-Turner cast Anthony Ainley, son
of noted Shakespearean actor and silent film star Henry Ainley. The
younger Ainley had enjoyed small roles in movies such as You Only
Live Twice but his career had chiefly been spent working on
television. He had appeared in programmes as varied as The
Avengers, Out Of The Unknown, Spyder's Web and
Upstairs, Downstairs, often in villainous roles. Nathan-Turner
remembered Ainley from an appearance in The Pallisers, while
executive producer Barry Letts had worked with him on an adaptation of
Nicholas Nickleby. On September 12th, Ainley was contracted to
appear in the final eight episodes of Season Eighteen, with an option
for as many as eight more during Season Nineteen.

John Nathan-Turner had become very keen on Nyssa, and
thought that she might be retained as a companion

The director appointed to The Keeper Of Traken was John Black,
whose previous credits included a Play For Today and Softly,
Softly: Task Force; Black was recommended to Nathan-Turner by
costume designer Amy Roberts. Amongst Black's first duties was to secure
a cast for the serial, including the role of Nyssa. Nathan-Turner had
become very keen on the character, and thought that she might be
retained as a companion for at least a few stories, providing another
familiar face for viewers in the wake of the Doctor's regeneration. This
was in spite of the fact that the introduction of another new companion,
Tegan Jovanka, had already been planned for the season finale, Logopolis, for more than a month. Byrne agreed
to the use of Nyssa beyond The Keeper Of Traken, although he
would retain his copyright on the character. Bidmead was skeptical of
Nathan-Turner's last-minute decision-making, but agreed to expand
Byrne's original concept of the character. In the process, some early
ideas were lost, such as Nyssa exhibiting a preternatural
sensitivity.

The actress Black selected to play Nyssa was Sarah Sutton. Sutton had
been acting since childhood, including starring roles in Alice
Through The Looking Glass and the supernatural drama The Moon
Stallion. On October 9th, Sutton was booked for The Keeper Of
Traken, with an option for up to twenty-eight episodes to follow. It
was decided that Nyssa would not join the Doctor at the end of The
Keeper Of Traken, but rather would be reintroduced in Logopolis if Sutton's option was indeed taken
up.

Recording for Serial 5T began with a three-day block in BBC Television
Centre Studio 6, from November 5th to 7th. The first day dealt with
material in the courtyard and in the TARDIS console room. Baker was in a
dour mood: although the romantic relationship between him and Lalla Ward
(who had played Romana) was going through a difficult period, Baker
still missed her presence on set, and disliked being surrounded by so
many newcomers. During supper, Nathan-Turner confirmed to Sutton that
the option on her contract had been invoked.

November 6th saw the completion of scenes in the Grove, along with model
shots. As the decrepit version of the Master, Black had cast Geoffrey
Beevers on the strength of his vocal abilities. Beevers' credits
included Coronation Street and the final episode of the 1970
Doctor Who serial The Ambassadors Of
Death. He was married to Caroline John, who had played companion
Liz Shaw ten years earlier. The block concluded with a day spent taping
sequences in Tremas' and Seron's rooms, as well as those in the
corridor.

On November 21st the British press reported the addition
of Sarah Sutton to the regular cast

The second studio session was held in TC8, and was scheduled to run from
November 21st to 23rd. It came on the heels of the surprise announcement
on the 19th that Baker and Ward were engaged, and planned to marry
during December. As a result, press interest in the production was
unusually high. The first two days of the session were dedicated to
scenes in the Keeper's sanctum and the sanctum antechamber, with some
material in the service vault also taped on the opening day. Peter
Pratt's Master costume from The Deadly
Assassin was refurbished for Beevers' use, although the mask was
altered so that more of the actor's face was visible. Also on the 21st,
the British press reported on the addition of Sutton to the regular
cast; a photocall was subsequently held on the 26th.

Unfortunately, recording on November 23rd had to be cancelled due to a
sudden strike by BBC electricians. Acting quickly, Nathan-Turner managed
to schedule a replacement date on December 17th in TC6. Taking place
four days after Baker and Ward's wedding, this completed the remaining
sequences in the service vault, as well as those in the cell and the
adjoining corridor and inside the Melkur.

Meanwhile, Nathan-Turner had begun the search for a new script editor to
replace Bidmead, who would be leaving Doctor Who at the end of
1980. Nathan-Turner approached Ted Rhodes, who was the script editor on
All Creatures Great And Small, but Rhodes was not interested in
moving to Doctor Who. To ease the transition between Bidmead and
his successor, a trainee named Antony Root was assigned to Doctor
Who. Root had spent several years working in the theatre before
joining the BBC as an assistant floor manager; one of his first jobs in
this capacity had been on Season Seventeen's Destiny Of The Daleks. Seeking a more
ambitious position, Root had secured an attachment to the BBC's Script
Unit and impressed Bidmead with a critique of an unused Doctor
Who submission. Root joined the production team during November for
a three-month stint.